For many Cincinnatians, the scariest part
of going across the Western Hills Viaduct is not knowing which lane you
should be in as you wrap around that McDonald’s that greets you on the
West Side — one wrong turn and you could be headed down State Street and
wondering both what year it is and if parts of Gummo were filmed
there.

Local subscribers to Time Warner and Insight cable woke up today without access to WLWT-TV
(Channel 5) after the station and companies failed to reach a new
retransmission agreement. Instead, the cable companies offered Channel 2
from NBC affiliate Terre Haute, Ind. The Enquirer is all over
the story, reporting that Todd Dykes and Lisa Cooney in the morning were
replaced by someone named Dada Winklepleck in Wabash Valley, Ind. Don’t
worry: 30 Rock will still be on your new local Indiana station. Visit
mywabashvalley.com for further details about additional programming. Or
you can just hook up an antennae and get WLWT in hi-def for free.
Anyone in the market for a school building? Cincinnati
Public Schools is adding four closed buildings to a for-sale list in an
attempt to raise the capital necessary to complete an overhaul of its
in-use buildings as part of its Facilities Master Plan.
The new buildings on the list are Central Fairmount, Kirby
Road, North Fairmount and Old Shroder schools.
Ohio brought in $23.5 million during the first seven weeks of legalized gambling in the state.
Mitt Romney says he’s not hiding anything in his offshore
accounts. The proof: He doesn’t even know where they are, so they’re
technically hidden from him, too.
Barack Obama is in Iowa apparently setting up an issue on
which to debate Romney later this fall. Obama is pitching an extension
of the Bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000,
while Romney wants to extend them for rich people, too.
The FDA went against the advice of an expert panel,
deciding not to require mandatory training for doctors prescribing
long-acting narcotic painkillers that can lead to addiction.
Three-hundred-square-foot apartments in New York City? Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked developers yesterday to try to make them work.
City planners envision a future in which the young, the
cash-poor and empty nesters flock to such small dwellings — each not
much bigger than a dorm room. In a pricey real estate market where about
one-third of renter households spend more than half their income on
rent, it could make housing more affordable.
Droughts in 18 states have made the price of corn go up, and the soybeans are hurting a little bit, too.
Sitting less adds two years to U.S. life expectancy.
A new study found that babies are healthier when there are dogs in their homes.The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will take place
tonight in Kansas City. The Reds’ Joey Votto is a starter, while Jay Bruce and Aroldis
Chapman are also likely to play.

FDA imposes regulations on electronic cigarettes

Since Ohio's statewide smoking ban went into effect in December 2006, making it illegal to smoke tobacco products in bars, restaurants and most other enclosed workspaces, smokers have been forced to keep their habit in check or at least make it more discreet. Recent technology, however, has given them the chance to fight back and reclaim their right to suck down nicotine anytime anywhere without the risk of legal consequence.

An hour ago, I ate a tablespoon of peanut butter on a rice cake. So healthy and responsible, I thought. Part of my Weight Watchers strategy. I hadn't checked to see if my brand was on the FDA's death-by-peanut list. But the concept of food-as-dangerous has now become part of my everyday consciousness.